Puller for hydraulic valve lifter plungers



Feb. 11, 1964 J. R. WILSON 3,120,701,

FULLER FOR HYDRAULIC VALVE LIFTER PLUNGERS Filed June 2, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR. (/4 y 2 W/L 5 ON,

Feb. 11, 1964 J. R. WIILSON FULLER FOR HYDRAULIC VALVE LIFTER PLUNGERS Filed June 2, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. /4Y e. u/msong United States Patent Qfiice 3,120,701 Patented F eb. 11, 1964 3,120,701 FULLER FUR HYDRAULIC VALVE LIFTER PLUNGERS Jay Randall Wilson, 209% S. Wyandotte, Dewey, ()lrla. Filed lane 2, 1961, Ser. No. 114,408 3 Claims. (ill. 29-213) This invention relates to a novel puller for hydraulic valve lifter plungers and the like.

The primary object of the invention is the provision of a more etiicient and more easily used puller of the kind indicated, by the use of which frozen plungers can be quickly removed, without any damage thereto, and without first having to remove the valve assemblies and unfreeze the plungers, as by applications of solvent thereto, following removal of sludge accumulated therein, whereby substantial time and labor are saved, and oil spillage on bench and work areas are eliminated' Another object of the invention is the provision of a puller of the character indicated above which has springexpanded jaws to be engaged in plungers, which have lateral pins spaced therealong for selective engagement in differently located oil holes of different plungers, by merely rotating plungers until a pin engages in an oil hole.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a puller of the character indicated above, wherein the jaws are carried by a lengthwise movable, lever operated member mounted on a frame or body, and adjustable stop means is provided for accurately limiting the reach of the jaws into subsequent plungers of the same type, the adjustment being adapted to be manually set as a jaw pin drops into an oil hole of the first plunger of a series to be pulled, whereby the time and labor losses involved in trial-and-error placements of the jaws in subsequent plungers are eliminated.

A still further object of the invention is the provision, in a puller of the character indicated above, of holding the cylinder on the frame or body of the puller which is adapted to be engaged over a valve lifter assembly for accurately aligning the puller with the assembly, before and during a pulling operation, the frame or body being designed to be clamped in a bench vise or the like, so as to reduce or eliminate the work and stress of manually holding the puller in such alignment, and the provision of bushings, for use in the positioning cylinder, for accommodating valve lifter assemblies of different diameters.

Yet another object of the invention is the provision of a simple puller of the character indicated above, which is composed of a small number of uncomplex and easily assembled parts, which can be manufactured in well-finished and rugged forms, at relatively low cost.

Other important objects and advantageous features of the invention will be apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings, wherein, for purposes of illustration only, a specific form of the invention is set forth in detail.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is an edge elevation of a puller of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation thereof, showing the levers in fully retracted pulling position;

FIGURE 3 is an end elevation taken from the right in FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary side elevation, like FIG- URE 2, showing the lever in full forward position and engaged with a stop, and showing the jaws engaged in a plunger of a hydraulic valve lifter assembly positioned in the holding cylinder, the cylinder and the assembly being shown in longitudinal section;

FIGURE 5 is a longitudinal section taken on the line 5-5 of FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 6 is a view substantially like FIGURE 4, showing the plunger pulled from the lifter assembly;

FIGURE 7 is an end elevation of a holding cylinder bushing; and

FIGURE 8 is a longitudinal section taken on the line 8-8 of FIGURE 7.

Referring in detail to the drawings, wherein like numerals designate like parts throughout the several views, the illustrated puller comprises an elongated flat bar or plate Ill, constituting the frame or body of the puller, which is designed to be clamped in a bench vise or the like, so as to relieve the mechanic of the trouble of manually supporting the puller and maintaining it in alignment with a hydraulic valve lifter assembly H. The plate 10 can have squared forward and rear or first and second ends 12 and 14, respectively, and a straight upper edge 16. Suitably fixed upon and inset into the upper edge 16, and reaching beyond the forward end 12, is a longitudinally disposed holding cylinder 18, whose axis is centered relative to the plane of the plate It). The holding cylinder 18 has an axial bore 20 which is large enough in diameter to receive the largest diameter lifter assemblies H contemplated. An internal annular stop flange 22 is provided at the rear or second end of the cylinder 18.

An inverted U-shaped slide bar housing 24 has legs 26 and 28 which are engaged with opposite sides of the plate It), and a bight portion 36 which is spaced laterally outwardly from and is parallel to the upper edge 16 of the plate Id, at a location nearer to the rearor second end 14 of the plate than to the holding cylinder 18. The housing 24 is fixed in place by means of a bolt 32 which extends through the legs 26 and 28 and the plate It), at a location near the rear or second ends of the legs, and a rotary shaft 34 which extends through the legs 26 and 28 and the plate 16, at the first or forward ends of the legs, through holes 36, 38 and 40, respectively, provided therein. The shaft 34 has a nut 42 threaded on oneend thereof which bears against the outer side of the housing leg 26, and a cam plate 44 is fixed on the other end of the shaft and bears against the outer side of the leg 28, and a radial handle 46 is fixed to the outer side of the cam plate 44. The cam plate 44 has an eccentric lobe 48 having a continuous progressively curved cam edge Stl.

A rectangular cross section slide bar 52 slides upon the upper edge 16 of the plate It) and is conformably engaged through the housing 24, and has a lateral cylindrical lug 54 on the side thereof adjacent to the cam plate 44 and which reaches laterally outwardly beyond the cam plate. The lug 54 is located at the rear or second end of the slide bar 52. The slide bar 52 terminates, at its forward or first end in a U-shaped cross head 56 which has a bight portion 58 suitably fixed, at its center, to the slide bar, and parallelly spaced legs 60, which preferably extend the full length of the bight portion 58, and are provided, at their ends, with aligned holes 62, through which journal pins 64 extend.

Similar but reversed, laterally spaced jaws 66 and 68 have laterally outwardly offset heads 76 which are severally journalled on the pins 64, between the crosshead legs 60. The heads 70 have stop projections 72 thereon adapted to engage the bight portion 58. When the laws are spaced away from each other to prevent over-spreading of the jaws. The jaws 66 and 68 comprise elongated half-round bars having straight main portions 74 which are fixed eccentrically to and extend forwardly from the heads 76, and straight terminals 76 which are disposed at small laterally outward angles relative to the main portions '72, so as to be in parallel spaced relationship when compressed and inserted in the plunger P, of the valve lifter assembly H, as shown in FIGURE 5.

The terminal of the jaw 66 has a pin 78 on its laterally outward side which is spaced from the free end 80 thereof, and the terminal of the jaw 63 has a similar pin 82 which is spaced from but located closer, than the pin 73, to the free .end .34 thereof. This arrangement of the pins 78 and 82 is provided to accommodate the locations of oil holes 86 in different valve lifter plungers P. The jaws 66 and 68 are urged away from each other by a coil spring 88 which is disposed endwise between and has its ends seated in recesses 90 provided in the facing sides of the main portions 74 of the jaws.

For working the slide bar 52 endwise relative to the plate and the housing 24, in opposite directions, for inserting the jaws 66 and 68 in the plunger P and for pulling the plunger P out of the assembly H, a hand lever 92 is provided which is pivoted, at its lower end, on a bolt 94, to the plate 19, at a location near to the lower edge of the plate and immediately behind the housing 24, at the same side of the plate as the cam plate. The bolt 94- extends through the plate 10 and has a spacer 96 thereon which spaces the lever 92 from the side of the plate and positions the lever 92 in the plane of the cam plate 44 and the plane of the lug 54, as shown in FIGURES 1 and 5.

Where the outside diameter of a valve lifter assembly H is substantially smaller than the bore 20 of the holding cylinder 18, bushings 98, shown in FIGURES 7 and 8, are provided for insertion in the holding cylinders. The bushings 98 comprise cylinders of a diameter to fit the bore of the holding cylinder, which have bores 100 sized to accommodate the particular assemblies, and have internal annular stop flanges 102 at their rear ends.

In use and operation, a valve lifter assembly H having been inserted in the holding cylinder 18, the jaws 66 and 68 are manually compressed toward each other and their terminals 76 are inserted into the plunger P of the assembly, as by pushing the slide bar 52 forwardly, relative to the plate 10. The assembly H is then manually ro tated in the holding cylinder 18 until one of the jaw pins drops into an oil hole 86 of the plunger P, whereat, if not already so engaged, the assembly H is pushed into the cylinder 18 until it engages the internal stop flange 22 of the cylinder. At this point the cam plate 144 is adjustably rotated, by means of the handle 46 until its cam edge 50 and the adjacent edge of the lever 92 touch, and the cam plate is left in this adjusted position, in order to serve as a limit stop for the lever and to predetermine, for subsequent plungers P of a series of similar valve lifter assemblies, the reach of the jaws 66 and 68 into the plungers thereof, and thereby assure that the jaw pin which was engaged in the oil hole 86 of the initial plunger, will engage the oil hole of the subsequent plungers, without any further adjustments or manipulations of the puller.

Once a jaw pin has been engaged in an oil hole 86 of the plunger P, the plunger is extracted or pulled, merely by pulling back on the lever 92, bearing against the lug 54, until the plunger is clear of the assembly H and the holding cylinder, as shown in FIGURE 5. The pulled plunger is removed from the jaws 66 and 63 simply by compressing the jaws together, against the resistance of the spring 88, until a jaw pin is disengaged from a plunger oil hole, and moving the plunger endwise off the jaws.

Although there has been shown and described herein a preferred form of the invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not necessarily confined thereto, and that any change or changes in the structure of and in the relative arrangements of components thereof are contemplated as being within the scope of the invention as defined by the claims appended hereto.

What is claimed is:

1. A puller comprising an elongated plate having for ward and rear ends and a side edge, a longitudinal holding cylinder mounted on said side edge at said forward end, said cylinder having an axial bore which is spaced parallel to and outwardly of said side edge, said cylinder having an internal stop flange at its rear end, an endwise movable slide bar mounted on said plate rearwardly of and in line with the axis of the holding cylinder, said slide bar having forward and rear ends, a pair of opposed spring-spread jaws having rear ends pivoted at their rear ends and extending forwardly from the forward end of the slide bar to engage the sidewall of a hollow element present in the holding cylinder and engaged with the stop flange, a lever pivoted at one end on one side of the plate inwardly of and adjacent the rear end of the plate, a lug fixed to and projecting laterally from the slide bar at its rear end and at said one side of the plate with which the lever is engageable for moving the slide bar rearwardly relative to the plate and the holding cylinder, and an adjustable limit stop mounted on the plate at said one side thereof at a location spaced forwardly from the pivotal axis of said lever with which the lever is engageable to the forwardly-swung position of the lever wherein said slide bar lug may be engaged with the lever to position the jaws in a predetermined position.

2. A puller comprising an elongated plate having forward and rear ends and a side edge, a longitudinal holding cylinder mounted on said side edge at said forward end, said cylinder having an axial bore which is spaced parallel to and outwardly of said side edge, said cylinder having an internal stop flange at its rearvend, an endwise movable slide bar mounted on said plate rearwardly of and in line with the axis of the holding cylinder, said slide bar having forward and rear ends, a pair of opposed spring-spread jaws pivoted at their rear ends and extending forwardly from the forward end ,of the slide bar to engage the sidewall of a hollow element present in the holding cylinder and engaged with the stop flange, said slide bar extending slidably along said side edge of the plate, a housing fixed on the plate and extending outwarddly from said side edge through which the slide bar slides, said housing being spaced from said holding cylinder and from the rear end of the plate, and a lever pivoted at one end on one side of the plate between said housing and the rear end of the plate, at a location spaced laterally inwardly from said side edge, and a lug fixed to and projecting laterally from the slide bar at its rear end and at said one side of the plate, with which the lever is engageable for moving the slide bar rearwardly relative to the plate and the holding cylinder, and an adjustable limit stop mounted on the plate at said one side thereof at a location spaced forwardly from the pivotal axis of said lever, with which the lever is engageable in a forwardly swung position of the lever wherein said slide bar lug may be engaged with the lever to position the jaws in a predetermined position.

3. A puller comprising an enlongated plate having forward and rear ends and a side edge, a longitudinal holding cylinder mounted on said side edge at said forward end, said cylinder having an axial bore which is spaced parallel to and outwardly of said side edge, said cylinder having an internal stop flange at its rear end, an endwise movable slide bar mounted on said plate rearwardly of and in line with the axis of the holding cylinder, said slide bar having forward and rear ends, a pair of opposed springspread jaws pivoted at their rear ends and extending forwardly from the forward end of the slide bar to engage the sidewall of a hollow element present in the holding cylinder and engaged with the stop flange, said slide bar extending slidably along said side edge of the plate, a housing fixed on the plate and extending outwardly from said side edge through which the slide bar slides, said housing being spaced from said holding cylinder and from the rear end of the plate, and a lever pivoted at one end on one side of the plate between said housing and the rear end of the plate, at a location spaced laterally inwardly from said side edge, and a lug fixed to and projecting laterally from the slide bar at its rear end and at said one side of the plate, with which the lever is engageable for moving the slide bar rearwardly relative to the plate and the holding cylinder, and an adjustable limit stop mounted on the plate at said one side thereof at a location spaced forwardly from the pivotal axis of said lever, with which the lever is engageable in a forwardly swung position of the lever wherein said slide bar lug may be engaged with the lever to position the jaws in a predetermined position, said limit stop eomprising a rotary cam plate having a continuously curved cam edge, and means for rotatably adjusting the cam plate.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Bambach Mar. 11, 1930 Turner June 27, 1939 Kling July 11, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS France Mar. 31, 1934 

1. A PULLER COMPRISING AN ELONGATED PLATE HAVING FORWARD AND REAR ENDS AND A SIDE EDGE, A LONGITUDINAL HOLDING CYLINDER MOUNTED ON SAID SIDE EDGE AT SAID FORWARD END, SAID CYLINDER HAVING AN AXIAL BORE WHICH IS SPACED PARALLEL TO AND OUTWARDLY OF SAID SIDE EDGE, SAID CYLINDRICAL HAVING AN INTERNAL STOP FLANGE AT ITS REAR END, AN ENDWISE MOVABLE SLIDE BAR MOUNTED ON SAID PLATE REARWARDLY OF AND IN LINE WITH THE AXIS OF THE HOLDING CYLINDER, SAID SLIDE BAR HAVING FORWARD AND REAR ENDS, A PAIR OF OPPOSED SPRING-SPREAD JAWS HAVING REAR ENDS PIVOTED AT THEIR REAR ENDS AND EXTENDING FORWARDLY FROM THE FORWARD END OF THE SLIDE BAR TO ENGAGE THE SIDEWALL OF A HOLLOW ELEMENT PRESENT IN THE HOLDING CYLINDER AND ENGAGED WITH THE STOP FLANGE, A LEVER PIVOTED AT ONE END ON ONE SIDE OF THE PLATE INWARDLY OF AND ADJACENT THE REAR END OF THE PLATE, A LUG FIXED TO AND PROJECTING LATERALLY FROM THE SLIDE BAR AT ITS REAR END AND AT SAID ONE SIDE OF THE PLATE WITH WHICH THE LEVER IS ENGAGEABLE FOR MOVING THE SLIDE BAR REARWARDLY RELATIVE TO THE PLATE AND THE HOLDING CYLINDER, AND AN ADJUSTABLE LIMIT STOP MOUNTED ON THE PLATE AT SAID ONE SIDE THEREOF AT A LOCATION SPACED FORWARDLY FROM THE PIVOTAL AXIS OF SAID LEVER WITH WHICH THE LEVER IS ENGAGEABLE TO THE FORWARDLY-SWUNG POSITION OF THE LEVER WHEREIN SAID SLIDE BAR LUG MAY BE ENGAGED WITH THE LEVER TO POSITION THE JAWS IN A PREDETERMINED POSITION. 